


Love Notes

by ddagent



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Teachers, F/M, Love Letters, Philinda AU Challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-08
Updated: 2015-02-08
Packaged: 2018-03-11 03:37:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3312458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ddagent/pseuds/ddagent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Phil finds a love note slipped into the papers he’s marking and wonders who could be the author. Written for the 'Education, Education, Education' Challenge at Philinda AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love Notes

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Agents of SHIELD or any of its characters, or settings - all belongs to Marvel and ABC.
> 
> suallenparker prompted me: "Phil finds a love note slipped into the papers he’s marking and he hopes it’s from Melinda". This was supposed to be a prompt. Got a little bigger than a prompt. Hope you enjoy!

Phil found the note late Friday night, after marking thirty papers and draining the last few drops out of his second bottle of beer. He'd thought it was a lost permission slip at first, perhaps a note for gym that had got caught up with someone's term paper. But the name scrawled across the front was his. When he opened it, the message was for him. Beautiful penmanship; heartfelt words. No name. 

 

"Nothing, not even an initial?" Maria took the note from his hand and scanned the prose. "Wow, that's some letter. Any idea who it could be?" 

 

The identity of the writer had consumed his thoughts all weekend. He hadn't even managed to finish the rest of his papers until Sunday morning. All his focus had been on examining the letter, trying to find _any_  clueas to who had written it. It was incredibly romantic: every further reading made the tips of his ears flush pink. He’d had a series of long term romantic relationships in his dating history. But no one had committed their feelings to paper in such a way before.  

 

"Not a clue. I even checked Clint's get well card this morning, but I couldn't match the handwriting." 

 

Maria handed the letter back to him. "Maybe it's not a member of staff. Maybe it's a student."

 

Phil scoffed. "Hardly. I'm not exactly Channing Tatum or Ryan Gosling or...another one of those guys who can't keep their shirts on." 

 

"I was thinking more along the lines of this being a prank.You know, kids want to stir up trouble, get off on thinking you have a secret admirer…that sort of thing. Sorry, Phil, but I think that's what you've got here." 

 

He nodded, taking on Maria's words as he rescanned the letter. As more and more of his colleagues flooded into the faculty room, Phil tried to catch the eye of any one he thought could be responsible. The English department, certainly, but he barely had anything to do with them. He would have considered Audrey, a bright young music teacher he’d flirted with, had she not changed schools last year after being granted her own department. 

 

"Hey, who has Clint's card? I'm taking it up to the hospital today after school."

 

Across the faculty room, Phil watched as Melinda May gathered up the overly large 'get well soon' card for her fellow coach in the Athletics department. He hadn't seen her name on the card. He hadn't even  _considered_ that his admirer might be her. That was just wishful thinking. He'd found Melinda attractive ever since she'd started at Providence High. She was great with the kids too, inspirational and yet tough. Like many of the senior boys, his crush on Melinda May was a long term commitment.

 

He gave one final glance at the letter before he balled it into scrap and tossed it away. Maria was right; it was most likely a prank. The chances of it being who he wanted were so slim they were almost non-existent. It was best to cope with reality than to lose himself in a fantasy. 

 

\--

 

This time he found the letter in his office after using a free period to get through some marking. It was a similar letter to the first: same stationary, same cursive handwriting, same flowery prose. This time when he read the words he didn't feel the same jolt, the same tingle. Instead he felt sick. He glanced out the windows of his classroom, wondering if a couple of his students were watching, waiting for him to find the letter. 

 

This time he didn’t dwell. He just ripped it in half and tossed it away. 

 

As he returned to his marking, Phil heard footsteps out in the hall, the light tap of knuckles on his open office door. He looked up to see Coach May framed in the soft afternoon light. He struggled to keep his eyes just to the left of her, not wanting to focus on the sports attire that left very little to the imagination. 

 

"Hi, Melinda," Phil greeted, dropping his red pen to his desk. "Everything okay?" 

 

She nodded, slipping into his classroom. Moments just the two of them were rare and Phil wanted to savour this one. "Everything's fine. Clint wanted me to come down, ask if you were coming out tonight to celebrate his return to work."

 

That was why he was doing his paperwork early, so he could go out for a couple of drinks with Clint, Maria and the rest. He hadn't gone out much recently, and he was trying to rectify that. "I'll be there. Eight o'clock, right?"

 

"Yeah, at the bar Clint’s friend owns. Should be a memorable evening. Oh, you dropped a paper." 

 

Melinda bent down and picked up the sliver of paper that had fallen awkwardly off his desk. She also picked up the first half of the letter that had missed the waste paper basket. Phil winced as he realised what she was holding, making a half-hearted attempt to snatch it from her before she read it. In the end he just swallowed, voice tight as he tried to explain it.

 

"It's a love letter."

 

"Not from someone you want, apparently." 

 

Phil sighed, leaning back on his chair. He was grateful when Melinda handed him the letter back. "No, no it's not. I talked to Assistant Principal Hill earlier in the week; we agreed it was a prank. Probably a senior with too much time on their hands." He thought Melinda would agree with him, but she just stared quietly into space. "Are you okay?" 

 

"Yeah." Melinda rested both her hands back on his desk, her smile weak. "I just...I recognise the handwriting." 

 

He swallowed, staring at the two ripped halves of the love letter now stashed in his bin with a rotting apple core and what was left of his lunch. The pit of Phil's stomach seemed to drop, resting somewhere around his ankles.  _Shit._ There was a reason why he taught History instead of Math. He  _sucked_ at probability. "Oh." 

 

"Don't worry, I'll tell her to knock it off. I think an entire weekend with a change in the Wi-Fi password will encourage Skye to cool it with the pranks."

 

 _Skye._ He'd only met Melinda's daughter a handful of times, although he'd heard Maria wax on and on about the trouble she was constantly getting into. The one department she didn't mess around in was her mother's. He could see why. A part of him was disappointed it wasn’t Melinda. Another part was just happy he had an answer. "Thank you, I'd appreciate that. Do you have any idea why she would have done this?"

 

Melinda shrugged. "She's not vindictive. She'll do these things for a laugh, because she can. She won't go out to deliberately hurt people. I think this is just a reaction to her father getting remarried."

 

"I don't understand." Melinda slipped off the corner of his desk, not providing him with the answer he sought. He stood up, hand reaching out to encircle her wrist. He could feel her pulse against his thumb, feel it beat and race. He  _really_ sucked at statistics. "Melinda, I..."

 

" _I like you_." There went his stomach again. "I can only apologise for my daughter's clichéd attempts to fix us up." 

 

All the ill-will this letter had caused him suddenly disappeared with those three words. Stepping closer, Phil cupped her cheek with a gentle hand. She liked him. _Melinda May liked him._ God he felt sixteen again. "Maybe put off changing the Wi-Fi password this weekend. Instead, we could go out? Lunch…or the movies, maybe." He leant in closer, close enough to see how her eyes were lighting up. "I was kind of hoping this was you all along." 

 

Melinda grinned, fingers threading through the ends of his tie. “You know, if we go out to lunch tomorrow, I’m going to have to thank my daughter.”

 

“Is that a yes?”

 

She nodded, her own hand slipping up to grasp at the curve of his shoulder. “Yes. One o’clock okay with you? I know a great place, makes really good pie.”

 

"I'll be there." He had a date with Melinda May. The woman of his dreams, the woman who had captivated him every school day for five years was going to sit down on a date with him. Nothing was going to wipe the smile from his face. “We really are going to have to thank your daughter.”

 

She shrugged. “I had plans to ask you out eventually. Love notes aren’t my style, though.”

 

The bell rang, signalling the end of the period. Phil had twenty five kids coming through those doors in about five minutes, and he was sure Melinda had to set up for her own class. Reluctantly, he took a step back. Melinda smiled and retreated towards the door.

 

Just before she left, Phil called out. “Just so I know, what is your style?”

 

"Locking the door to your classroom; kissing you until I make my feelings clear. I like taking the direct approach." 

 

Phil's mouth was suddenly dry. "So tomorrow. One o’clock."

 

"Absolutely. We can talk more about it tonight.”

 

The drinks. Of course, _the drinks_. With any luck, he may even get to walk her home. As Melinda left with a smile, Phil collapsed into his desk chair. A video, maybe the documentary on Captain America during the Second World War, would be a good choice for his final period of the day. Phil wasn’t sure he was capable of thinking of anything but Melinda May and their _date._

 

For the first time since he'd been in their seats, Phil joined the kids in counting down the minutes until the end of school. He really was sixteen and in love. 


End file.
